It Only Takes Two Things to Become Great
It Only Takes Two Things to Become Great
The ability to improve
The strength to keep trying
If you are constantly improving your writing, and keep at it, you will eventually become great.
So what’s the catch?
Constantly improving is not easy and it’s going to takes a long time to reach greatness.
The Ability to Improve
Knowing the Rules
If you know the components of a great story, then you’ll have a much better chance of plotting out a good one. What makes a story good or bad is not entirely subjective. Writing stories is a skill and there are rules.
For example, a story should have a compelling character and that character should experience change throughout the tale.
Knowing what elements compose a great story, and how those elements affect one another, is crucial to improving.
Getting the Words on the Page
In order to improve, you first need to know what your skill level is, and to assess your skill level, you need to write. A lot can be learned from reading stories you admire, watching videos, reading books on writing, and listening to podcasts that analyze storytelling. Eventually, however, you’re going to need to see what you are capable of and apply your knowledge to address your faults.
For many people, actually sitting down and writing is the hardest part of being a writer. It’s also the most crucial to improvement.
Making use of Feedback
Just as important as pleasing readers with what you put on the shelves at the bookstore, is seeking out the opinions of others while you are in the process of learning to write.
There will be times when you have applied all you know and believe one of your stories is perfect. More often, you will know something is wrong with your story, but not exactly what. Having someone to send your stories to that will read them and provide feedback will be absolutely vital at plateaus in your writing development.
2. The Strength to Keep Trying
Starting out at Suck
It’s going to be a while before you can write something you’re proud of. And more often than not, once you finally think something you wrote is great, you’ll almost certainly be wrong.
This period of learning can be frustrating and can cause a lot of writers to give up. One way to deal with these setbacks is to embrace the idea that the end product of your writing is not your stories; it is you. You are learning and growing and moving closer to the time when your words on the page won’t fall flat; they’ll sing.
Dealing with Rejection
When writers submit a story, it’s rare for them to receive feedback. Form rejections (a standardized response which provide no feedback on your story other than the story wasn’t good enough) are the norm in this industry. Receiving these (and often piles and piles of them) can be devastating. Worse, when you have faith in a story and it keeps piling up the rejections, it can start to seem like the world is against you and the industry doesn’t make sense.
Dealing with with these moments in a healthy way (spending time with friends, calling your family, going outside) and convincing yourself the next one will sell--or that it doesn’t matter if it does--can be difficult to say the least. Which brings me to the next point...
Enjoying the Process
It’s theoretically possible to become a successful writer through sheer will alone, but it will be a whole lot easier if you enjoy yourself on your way to success. After a writing sprint, take the time to laugh at your awkward sentences (and then take the time to make them less awkward). Choose to write that story you always wanted to read--even if you don’t think it will ever sell. Share your writing with your friends, swap stories with your peers, and embrace new friendships formed inside the community.
This still sounds kind of tough
Writing is hard. Trying to improve is exhausting. But writing is also rewarding. It helps us flesh out complicated problems and explore what we really believe. Writing gives us purpose and provides us with a voice in a loud, crazy world.
Yes, writing is hard, improving is difficult, and becoming great might seem impossible. But it’s not. Becoming great takes only two things:
The ability to improve
The strength to keep trying
Just keep shuffling your feet and you’ll keep moving forward. Move at your own pace, but be sure to look up every once in a while and think about where you’re headed. Take care of yourself, enjoy your journey toward greatness, and embrace the act of Writing it Wrong.
